The Spirit Of Power

”The Spirit of Power” (Acts 4:31)

Introduction: We are into another new year, and as we saw last week, we are to have plans and goals for this year, but we are not to procrastinate, always counting on tomorrow when we have no guarantee that tomorrow will be there for us. But there are many things that we ought to plan for and to do. Really, we should have a plan for everything that we do so that we will get the most out of our short time on earth and bring the most glory to God. Now some of you might say, ”Yes, I know that, you are constantly reminding us of our duty to do these things. That is all well and good, but I already have so much going now that I don’t know how I could fit another thing in. I would like to do more for the Lord, but sometimes I feel as though I’m locked into this schedule and can’t do anything to get out of it. I just don’t have the strength.” But you must never forget that the Lord never commands you to do what He does not give you the strength to perform. The power is available, and the Lord is willing to give it to you. But I fear that many of us do not know what this power is and how to get it, and that we are also unaware that there are many things that we do in our lives that rob us of what precious little of this power we have. I believe that there is much that we can learn from reading the book of Acts. When you examine this book, which is a history of the continuing work of Christ through His Holy Spirit, you don’t usually get the impression that the apostles and disciples of Jesus lacked power. As a matter of fact, you get just the opposite impression. They were constantly working and serving the Lord with gladness of heart. Oftentimes, it seems as though their power and commitment were unlimited. In our passage this morning we see one such example . In Acts 3, Peter and John went into the Temple to pray. But as they were entering at the Beautiful Gate, they saw a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb. As he asked to receive some charitable gift from them, Peter said, ”I DO NOT POSSESS SILVER AND GOLD, BUT WHAT I DO HAVE I GIVE TO YOU: IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST THE NAZARENE -- WALK!” [3:6). Immediately the man jumped up on his feet and began walking and leaping and praising God. As he was doing s o , a crowd soon gathered around them wanting to find out what had happened. Peter then powerfully preached to them a very sober sermon on their sinfulness and need of Christ. But as they were speaking, the priests, the captain of the Temple guard and the Sadducees came upon them and had them arrested. They were soon brought before the Sanhedrin, and questioned to find out who had authorized them to teach and to heal. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, boldly replied that it was by the authority of Jesus Christ. Seeing that they could not deny that a great miracle had taken place, but also desiring that this teaching go no further among the people, they warned Peter and John not to speak any longer in this man’s name. Upon hearing this they replied, ”WHETHER IT IS RIGHT IN THE SIGHT OF GOD TO GIVE HEED TO YOU RATHER THAN TO GOD, YOU BE THE JUDGE; FOR WE CANNOT STOP SPEAKING WHAT WE HAVE SEEN AND HEARD” [4:19-20). When they were released, they went back to their companions and told them what had happened. And when they heard this, they all lifted their voices in prayer to the Lord. ”AND WHEN THEY HAD PRAYED, THE PLACE WHERE THEY HAD GATHERED TOGETHER WAS SHAKEN, AND THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND BEGAN TO SPEAK THE WORD OF GOD WITH BOLDNESS” [v. 31). What was the secret of the power of Peter and John to bear such bold witness to Christ? What was the secret of the disciples’ zeal for the Lord? What was it that

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transformed their lives from that of timid followers of Jesus to courageous witnesses to His truth? I t was the Spirit of power, that same Spirit who is promised to you and me this morning. And what this text is teaching us is,

God has given to each of you His children the Spirit of power to enable you to serve Him with great strength, diligence and boldness. First I want you to see that God has made for you a provision to give you the power to do what He commands you to do through the filling of the Spirit; and secondly, what the results of that filling are in the lives of His people.

I.

The Holy Spirit Is God's Provision to Enable His People for Service. A. There Is No Question that the Holy Spirit Was Promised to the Disciples and that He Was Given to Empower Them. 1 . Jesus spoke of the Spirit's coming when He was giving His disciples directions prior to His ascension. a. In John 14:16-17, He says, "AND I WILL ASK THE FATHER, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU ANOTHER HELPER, THAT HE MAY BE WITH YOU FOREVER; THAT IS THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, WHOM THE WORLD CANNOT RECEIVE, BECAUSE IT DOES NOT BEHOLD HIM OF KNOW HIM, BUT YOU KNOW HIM BECAUSE HE ABIDES WITH YOU AND WILL BE IN YOU." b. The Spirit of God was already abiding in them as it was in the saints of the Old Testament, but He had not yet been poured out in His fullness. 2. When Jesus ascended, He again told the disciples to wait for the outpouring of the Spirit. He said, "AND BEHOLD, I AM SENDING FORTH THE PROMISE OF MY FATHER UPON YOU; BUT YOU ARE TO STAY IN THE CITY UNTIL YOU ARE CLOTHED WITH POWER FROM ON HIGH" (Luke 24:49). This power was to make them His witnesses, not only in the surrounding regions, but also to the ends of the earth. 3 . And on the day of Pentecost, we see this powerful outpouring of the Spirit. "AND WHEN THE DAY OF PENTECOST HAD COME, THEY WERE ALL TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE. AND SUDDENLY THERE CAME FROM HEAVEN A NOISE LIKE A VIOLENT RUSHING WIND, AND IT FILLED THE WHOLE HOUSE WHERE THEY WERE SITTING. AND THERE APPEARED TO THEM TONGUES AS OF FIRE DISTRIBUTING THEMSELVES, AND THEY RESTED ON EACH ONE OF THEM. AND THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT AND BEGAN TO SPEAU WITH OTHER TONGUES, AS THE SPIRIT WAS GIVING THEM UTTERANCE" (Acts 2:1-4). This was to fulfill what the prophet Joel had said, "'AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' COD SAYS, 'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT UPON ALL FLESH" (v. 17). He was given by the grace of God to empower them. B.

This Was True for the Disciples, But Sometimes We May Doubt As to Whether or Not His Power Is Available to Us Today. 1 . But the apostle Paul plainly tells us that the Spirit indwells all bel ievers. a. He says, "FOR BY ONE SPIRIT WE WERE ALL BAPTIZED INTO ONE BODY, WHETHER JEWS OR GREEKS, WHETHER SLAVES OR FREE, AND WE WERE ALL MADE TO DRINK OF ONE SPIRIT" 1 Cor. 12:13. b. Furthermore, he says, "OR DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT YOUR BODY IS A TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WHO IS IN YOU, WHOM YOU HAVE FROM COD, AND THAT YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN" ( 1 Cor. 6:19)? c. He says in Romans 8 : 9 , "BUT IF ANYONE DOES NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, HE DOES NOT BELONG TO HIM."

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2. He also tells us that the indwelling of the Spirit brings with it power. He says in 2 Timothy 2:7, "FOR GOD HAS NOT GIVEN US A SPIRIT OF TIMIDITY, BUT OF POWER AND LOVE AND DISCIPLINE." 3 . And that it is the duty of all Christians to be at all times filled with the Spirit. a. "AND DO NOT GET DRUNK WITH WINE, FOR THAT IS DISSIPATION, BUT BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT" (Eph. 5:18). b. Being filled with the Spirit means that you are controlled by Him, just as being filled with anything means to be under its influence. Paul here says not to be drunk with wine, that is, not to be C. filled with it, to be under its influence. Satan had filled Ananias' heart so that he lied to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3). The high priest and the Sadducees were so filled with jealousy over the popularity of the apostles, that they took them by force and put them into jail (5:17-18). d. Being filled with the Spirit, therefore, means that you are completely under His influence and control. e. The filling of the Spirit is for today and it is commanded of each of you. 11.

The Result of Being Filled With the Holy Spirit Is An Increase in Spiritual Power and Holy Desires. A. There Are Many Fillings of the Spirit and Differing Degrees of that Fi 11ing. 1 . In Acts, we see that the apostles were filled with the Spirit on more than one occasion. a. In the Scriptures, there is only one baptism of the Spirit, that which comes at conversion when He places you in the body of Christ. b. But there are numerous fillings of the Spirit where He empowers the people of God to do His will. (i) The disciples were all filled with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4). (ii) And yet we see Peter again filled with the Spirit as he gives bold witness before the council (4:8). (iii) And then again we see Peter and the apostles and disciples filled with the Spirit of God after their release and subsequent prayer (4: 31). 2.

B.

There are also differing degrees of that filling. a. Jesus became the Christ, which means anointed One, when the Spirit came down upon Him at His baptism. b. And J o h n the baptist said regarding this anointing, "HE WHO HAS RECEIVED HIS WITNESS HAS SET HIS SEAL TO THIS, THAT GOD IS TRUE. FOR HE WHOM GOD HAS SENT SPEAKS THE WORDS OF GOD; FOR HE GIVES THE SPIRIT WITHOUT MEASURE. THE FATHER LOVES THE SON, AND HAS GIVEN ALL THINGS INTO HIS HAND" (John 3 : 3 3 - 3 5 ) . "HE", that is God, "GIVES THE SPIRIT", to Christ, "WITHOUT MEASURE." c. The Spirit is not given by measure to Christ, which implies that He is to us. One only need look at the lives of all of the saints to see that their gifts and graces always differ one from another.

But When the Spirit Does Fill the Hearts of His People in Great

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Measure, Great Things Happen. 1 . There is a great increase in the desire after holy things. a. As we have said concerning the ministry of the Holy Spirit, He is the Spirit of holiness, and it is holiness that he works in the lives of His people. b. "no YOU NOT KNOW THAT YOU ARE A TEMPLE OF an, AND THAT THE SPIRIT OF COD DWELLS IN YOU? IF ANY MAN DESTROYS THE TEMPLE OF COD, COD WILL DESTROY HIM, FOR THE TEMPLE OF GOD IS HOLY, AND THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE" ( I Cor. 3:16-17). c. Holiness is separateness: separation from sin and the world, unto righteousness and the service of God. 2.

And when a man is filled with the Spirit of God, he becomes a holy vessel, filled with the power of God, filled with a holy desire to serve God and to accomplish His purposes. a. Just think about the life of our Savior and His consecration unto God. He said, "AND HE WHO SENT ME IS WITH ME; HE HAS NOT LEFT ME ALONE, FOR I ALWAYS no THE THING THAT ARE PLEASING TO HIM" (John 8:29), And, "MY FOOD IS TO DO THE WILL OF HIM WHO SENT ME, AND TO ACCOMPLISH HIS WORK" (4: 34). b. Think about how the Holy Spirit transformed the life of the apostle Peter. Prior to the day of Pentecost, we see him three times deny that he even knew Christ (Luke 22:54-62). After his Lord's crucifixion, we see him hiding, along with the rest of the apostles, from the Jews (John 20:19). But on the day of Pentecost, we see this same Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, stand up and give one of the most courageous testimonies as to the resurrection of Christ, and he continued to tirelessly preach Christ. Think also about how the Spirit transformed the life of the C. apostle Paul. One day we see him riding to Damascus to bind and imprison any Christians he should find there (Acts 9:1-2). Later, after his conversion and filling with the power of the Spirit, we see him proclaiming Jesus Christ as the Son of God in the synagogues (w. 3-22). d. And this filling of the Spirit and the manifestation of His power was not only limited to the apostolic period. One need only think about such men mightily used of God such as August ine, Anselm, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Whitefield, Wesley, Edwards, Spurgeon, and many many more. e. This is why I find Christian biography to be such interesting reading. You gain an acquaintance with individuals who were as we are, sinners saved by grace, who had the same nature as we, who labored under the same burdens with the same disadvantages, and yet, because they trusted the Lord, were endowed with great power and accomplished tremendous feats for the glory of the Lord. f. One such example we see in the life of William Grimshaw, a man who was ordained to the ministry of the Church of England before he was actually converted. It seems as though he sought the ministry so that he might have a respectable profession in life and hopefully get a good 1iving. While he was curate of Todmorden, he spent the greater part g. of the first three years of his ministry in such things as hunting, fishing, card-playing, and revelry. One woman,

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h.

i.

i.

seeking for spiritual counsel from him, received the following answer, ”Put away these gloomy thoughts. Go into merry company. Divert yourself; and all will be well at last.” After his conversion, he went to her house and said, ” 0 Mary, what a blind leader of the blind was I, when I came to take off thy burden by exhorting thee to live in pleasure, and to follow the vain amusements of the world!’’ (Ryle 1 1 1 ) . The transformation in his life is a testimony to the power of God. J.C. Ryle wrote that he preached both in his parish and in neighboring parishes twenty to thirty times a week. His charity and brotherly love knew no bounds. ”He loved all who loved Christ, by whatever name they might be called, and he was kind to every one in temporal as well as spiritual things. ’In fact,’ says Middleton [one of his biographers], ’his charity knew no bound but his circumstances. As his grace and faithfulness rendered him useful to all, so his benevolent liberality particularly endeared him to the poor. He frequently used to say, ’If I shall die today I have not a penny to leave behind me.’ And yet he did not quit the world in debt, for he had prudence as well as grace.’’ ”He was pre-eminently a peacemaker. ’The animosities and differences of men,’ says Middleton, ’afforded his affectionate spirit nothing but pain. No labour was too great or too long if their reconciliation might be his reward. When he has met with cases of uncommon perseverance or obduracy, he has been known to fall on his knees before them, beseeching them, for Christ’s sake, to love one another, and offering to let them tread on his neck if they would only be at peace among themselves.’’’ ”He was, above all, a man of rare humility. Few gifted men, perhaps, ever thought so meanly of themselves, or were so truly ready in honour to prefer others. ’What have we to boast of?’ he said. ’What have we that we have not received? Freely by grace we are saved. When I die I shall then have my greatest grief and my greatest joy, -- my greatest grief that I have done so little for Jesus, and my greatest joy that Jesus has done so much for me. My last words shall be, Here goes an unprofitable servant!”’ ( 118-1 1 9 ) .

j.

III.

There are many things more that could be said of what the Lord had accomplished in this man’s life by the power of the Spirit, but these are enough to show us that the Spirit produces very powerful and holy effects when He is allowed to reside unchallenged in the soul.

In Closing, I Would Like to Show You What the Bible Says About Being Filled with the Spirit, and Also What It Warns You as To What Can Rob You of His Influence. A. The Filling of the Spirit Is Something that You Must Ask For As Well as Something Which Is Commanded Every Christian. 1 . I say that it is the duty of every Christian for this blessing is not given to those apart from Christ. a. As I said earlier, the Spirit comes to reside within His people when He converts them to Christ.

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And if you do not have the Spirit of Christ, you do not belong to Him. c. If you are void of the Spirit’s work in your life this morning, if you have no desire for the holy things of God, if Jesus Christ is not your personal Lord and Savior, if you do not find in Him the desire of your heart, if your life is not set apart wholly for His purposes, then you need to come to Him in faith and repentance. d. Faith is the looking away from yourself and all of your attempts to be made right with God and looking to Christ. It is looking to His righteousness to be justified and not your works which will always fall short of God’s standard. e. It is also turning away from your sins and endeavoring after holiness of life, the holiness without which no one shall see the Lord (Heb. 12: 14). f. If Christ has put it in your heart to love Him this morning, then do so now and for the rest of your life. If not, then you need to call upon His mercy and ask Him to put that love in your heart, to change your heart of stone to a heart of flesh that you might willingly come. ”SEEK THE LORD WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND, CALL UPON HIM WHILE HE IS NEAR. LET THE wIcmn FORSAUE HIS WAY, AND THE UNRIGHTEOUS MAN HIS THOUGHTS; AND LET THEM RETURN TO THE LORD, AND HE WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON HIM; AND TO OUR GOD, FOR HE WILL ABUNDANTLY PARDON” (Isa. 55:6-7). b.

2.

But if you are Christ’s this morning, know that you are called to be filled with the Holy Spirit. a. In Acts, we see the Spirit’s being given when the disciples are seeking to obey the Lord and serve Him. You must first want to be the Lord’s alone, to forsake your own pleasures and your own will and resign yourself to be His. b. But you must also ask for Him. As we see from our text this morning, He is given in answer to prayer, ”AND WHEN THEY HAD PRAYED, THE PLACE WHERE THEY WERE GATHERED TOGETHER WAS SHAUEN, AND THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.” Jesus said, ”IF YOU THEN, BEING EVIL, KNOW WHO TO GIVE GOOD C. GIFTS TO YOUR CHILDREN, HOW MUCH MORE SHALL YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER GIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THOSE WHO ASK HIM?” (Luke 11: 13). d. And so what Paul is referring to where he says, ”BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT,” is the yielding yourself to the Spirit’s influence and the prayer that He would fill and control your 1if e.

B. But You Must Also Put Away the Sin in Your Life Which Quenches the Power of His Operations. I. Paul says, ”DO NOT QUENCH THE SPIRIT” ( 1 Thes. 5:21 ), and again, ”DO NOT GRIEVE THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD, BY WHOM YOU WERE SEALED FOR THE DAY OF REDEMPTION” (Eph. 4:30). 2. We quench His operation and grieve Him through sin: a. First, the sin of resisting His will as He reveals it to us in His Word. We stray off the narrow path of righteousness because the walk is more comfortable out of the way. The way is narrow which leads to life, and it is not easy to walk on it, but it is clearly defined by the whole of

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Scripture and it is absolutely necessary to walk on it if you are to obtain life. b. Also, the sin of worldliness, loving the things of the world, more than the things of God quenches the Spirit. Our hearts are so prone to love the things of the world more than God. We want to make ourselves comfortable here. We don’t want to make any sacrifices which cause us the least degree of pain. c. But the more we allow ourselves to rebel against His authority and His leading, the more we quench His power, become less holy, and give our hearts over to hardening. d. We must be very careful. To live in such a way is very precarious. Isaiah, recounting the story of the Lord’s grace in the lives of His people, wrote, ”FOR HE SAID, ’SURELY, THEY ARE MY PEOPLE, SONS WHO WILL NOT DEAL FALSELY.’ SO HE BECAME THEIR SAVIOR. IN ALL THEIR AFFLICTION HE WAS AFFLICTED, AND THE ANGEL OF HIS PRESENCE SAVED THEM; IN HIS LOVE AND IN HIS MERCY HE REDEEMED THEM; AND HE LIFTED THEM AND CARRIED THEM ALL THE DAYS OF OLD. BUT THEY REBELLED AND GRIEVED HIS HOLY SPIRIT; THEREFORE, HE TURNED HIMSELF TO BECOME THEIR ENEMY, HE FOUGHT AGAINST THEM” (63:8- 10). e. People of God, do not grieve the Spirit of God whom He has put within you to teach you His holy paths. Do not resist His leading. To do so is to expose yourself to His hardening and to lose much precious grace and power by which you might be serving the Lord. And so take heed that the admonition of the author to the Hebrews does not fall on you, ”TAUE CARE, BRETHREN, LEST THERE SHOULD BE IN ANY ONE OF YOU AN EVIL, UNBELIEVING HEART, IN FALLING AWAY FROM THE LIVING COD. BUT ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER DAY AFTER DAY, AS LONG AS IT IS STILL CALLED ”TODAY,” LEST ANYONE OF YOU BE HARDENED BY THE DECEITFULNESS OF SIN” (3:12-13). Do not be counted among those who shrink back to destruction, but among those who have faith to the persevering of the soul (10:39). Turn from all of your sin, into the path of obedience, and pray that God would fill you with His Holy Spirit. And then see what marvelous things He will do in your 1if e. Amen.